Ethan Gage named Canadian U-20 Player of the Year

The Canadian Soccer Association (CSA) announced today that Vancouver Whitecaps FC defender/midfielder Ethan Gage has been named Canadian U-20 Player of the Year for 2010.

The Cochrane, Alberta, native topped the voting amongst six nominees for the annual award, with the vote shared between Canadian national team coaches and Canadian coaches who have taken the CSA's national coaching course at the 'B' and 'A' levels. Whitecaps FC Residency products Julien Latendresse-Lévesque and Russell Teibert were second and fourth respectively in voting.

A product of the club's Residency program, Gage's third season with the Blue and White saw him start five of his 11 appearances for 564 minutes of action. This included an appearance in all four of Vancouver's matches during the 2010 USSF D-2 Pro League playoffs.

The 19-year-old also had a busy 2010 with the Canadian national team program, as the defender/midfielder called into three camps with Canada's U-20 national team. This included appearances with the U-20 squad at tournaments in the Netherlands and Spain. He also took part in a camp with Canada's U-23 Olympic squad last month.

Former Whitecaps FC midfielder Jonelle Filigno joined Gage in also being named Canadian U-20 Player of the Year on the female side. 'Caps midfielder Chelsea Stewart - who won the same award in 2009 - finished second in voting.